


Moves Like Jagger

by Emme2589



Series: Just Call And I'll Be There [14]
Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Dancing, Drinking, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Rated T for swearing, Romance, Selectively Mute Henry Stickmin, Sign Language, Silly, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28496046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emme2589/pseuds/Emme2589
Summary: Henry used to love dancing, but it's been soured for him by bad experiences. He doesn't want to stop dancing, but how can he overcome this programmed shame?
Relationships: Charles Calvin/Henry Stickmin
Series: Just Call And I'll Be There [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011435
Comments: 9
Kudos: 69





	Moves Like Jagger

Ever since Henry was a child, he knew he loved to dance.

Whenever his favorite song came on the radio, he couldn't help but shuffle back and forth, or at least tap his foot to the beat of the music. He practiced both in secret and with his friends, trying to nail the moves he saw on those weird dance shows he saw on tv, as well as talking to his female friends who told him all about what happened in their dance classes. By age 7, Henry could do a cartwheel and summersault with ease. By 8, he could do the moonwalk, even on carpet, and by 9, he could hold a handstand for a few seconds, plenty long enough to go into another move. He knew his positions in ballet, his poses in yoga, had developed a great sense of balance, and he stretched every day to keep himself flexible. Any way he could get himself moving, he did, and it made him happier than he could possibly express.

That is, until he asked his mom if he could enroll in dance lessons like many of his female friends, and her words crushed his little ten-year-old heart.

_"What? Don't be ridiculous, Son! No boy like you is going to make it as a dancer!"_

But that's not what he had asked. He tried to say that at least he wanted dance shoes, but she wasn't hearing it. The conversation was over.

Of course, he didn't just stop dancing after that. He didn't even do it on purpose most of the time, he just found himself in the habit of doing the box step when he was forced to stand still. However, whenever his mom caught him dancing, she'd scold him for wasting his time on frivolous activities when there were far more important things to be doing, always reiterating that, _"Men can't be good dancers anyway."_

Okay, forgetting the fact that that wasn't even true, and that Henry _wasn't a man,_ it absolutely destroyed him when doing something so important to him was punished.

One of the only things that made him truly happy...and his family had taken that from him too.

As Henry recounted the story, the lights a little too bright at the bar downtown, Ellie nodded over her drink as she swirled its contents.

"Okaaay..." her red lipstick stained her glass, "I didn't need your whole life story. I just asked if you wanted to dance."

"I know, but..." Henry took a sip of his own drink, even though the burning alcohol was just giving him a headache, "I haven't told this to anyone, and I'm only just realizing how unfair it is. There'll be times where I'll hear music on the radio and start tapping my foot, but then I'll hear my mom's voice in my head, and I'll force myself to stop. I feel so much shame in it."

"Oh, so you do want to dance, but..."

"But I can't." Henry took another sip, "God, I hate it. I want to push past it, but I can't."

"Not with that attitude, you can't!" Ellie shook his arm, "Honestly? Fuck your mom! Fuck her to hell and back!"

"Uhh, I'm not sure I wanna do that..."

"You know what I mean! She was so cruel to take your love of dancing, but abuse doesn't delete your personality! It's still in there! Go dance!"

"Nooo!" Henry grabbed the bar counter as his knees grew weak, "Every one of my friends is here! What if Charles sees!? I would..."

_What if Charles sees you dance?_

His heart fluttered. Charles. The love of his life, who was currently drunkenly chatting with Rupert across the nightclub. Rupert had his hands all over Dave, who was blushing hard, but was too drunk to care much about social humiliation. Charles meanwhile was trying to talk a bit of sense into his best friend, not one who enjoyed getting slammed, so instead, he was mostly just tipsy, buzzed to the point of inebriation but not enough to truly affect his judgement. He had that flush over his cheeks though, and it made Henry stare.

"Do it!" Ellie said excitedly, "Go on! I've seen you dance! Charles has seen you dance, too! I guarantee he'll love it!"

A song came over the dance floor through the huge speakers, and Henry's eyes widened. It was his favorite childhood song to dance to. He began to tap his foot before stifling it, a pang of dread hitting him in the chest.

 _What? No! Don't be ashamed!_ he scolded himself, looking back over the dance floor.

"Go, Henry!" Ellie gave him a slight shove, "I know you want to!"

So, drawing himself up to his full height, Henry downed the rest of his drink. The dance floor was clear. Now was his chance.

So, just as the lyrics started, he quickly slid onto the colorful, flashing dance floor.

_"Just shoot for the stars, if it feels right, and aim for my heart, if you feel like, and take me away. And make it okay. I swear I'll behave."_

Recognition flooded Charles' features as everyone stared, watching as Henry made sweeping gestures with his arms. The learned shame hung on the back of his drunk consciousness, but he ignored it. Ellie was right. His mom had no power here.

_"You wanted control, so we waited, I put on a show, now I make it, you say I'm a kid. My ego is big. I don't give a shit."_

He mouthed the words to himself, recalling the dance he made up for this song all those years ago that he knew by heart. He changed a few things about it of course, but otherwise, it reminded him so much of why he loved dancing so much. He didn't hold back. He was having too much fun.

_"Baby it's hard, and it feels like, you're broken and scarred, nothing feels right, but when you're with me. I'll make you believe. That I've got the key."_

Charles was dumbfounded. Henry's movements were a tad sloppy from his drunkenness, but he couldn't believe his eyes as Henry seemed to just _float_ across the dance floor like he weighed nothing. Sometimes, he even swayed like he was going to fall, but he didn't. It was like magic.

_"Oh, so get in the car, we can ride it, wherever you want, get inside it, and you want to steer. But I'm shiftin' gears. I'll take it from here."_

Henry made eye contact with Charles as he slid forward, holding his hand out as if dedicating his performance to him. Charles took a step back, his hands over his mouth as he watched, entranced.

_"Oh yeah, yeah, yeah!"_

Henry's sneakers squeaked on the dance floor as he spun, laughing as the bystanders behind to cheer him on.

_"And it goes like this! Uh, take me by the tongue and I'll know you! Uh, kiss me 'til you're drunk and I'll show you want the moves like Jagger, I've got the moves like Jagger, I've got the moooves like Jagger!"_

Henry hopped in place, his steps speeding up as he jumped back and forth, hugging himself before pointing his finger out and bringing his arm up like he was miming a gunshot. He didn't know what it was, but he was brimming with confidence.

_"Uh, I don't need to try to control you! Uh, look into my eyes and I'll own you with them moves like Jagger, I got the moves like Jagger, I got the moooves like Jagger!"_

Henry held his ending pose, a gentleman's bow with a hand over his forehead like he was tipping an imaginary hat. The crowd began to cheer, and he shied away from the praise, rubbing his neck as his anxiety returned to the surface.

"That was incredible, Henry!" Ellie elbowed him, "Where did you learn to do that!?"

"Uh..." Henry cleared his throat, "I taught myself, mostly."

"Dude! Did you see that!?" one bystander exclaimed loudly, "That guy just did a quadruple pirouette! Do you know how fucking hard that is!?"

"And with those shoes on that floor, no less!" another stranger added.

"Oi! Henry!" Rupert slapped his back a little too hard, "That was spectacular, mate!"

"No kidding! I've never seen anything like it!" Dave stumbled into Rupert, who held him up, "That was amazing!"

Henry was blushing hard under all the praise, a shy smile on his face as he gazed at all the awed faces in the room.

That was when his gaze fell on Charles, who was the only one who hadn't reacted yet.

Charles approached him slowly as the next song started, a slower tune. He kept going until he reached Henry, when he took his hands, his mouth open like he was caught between thoughts.

Henry held his breath as Charles' voice came out as a hush;

_"You looked so happy."_

Henry smiled, a smile so wide it hurt his face, then he burst into laughter. It was laughter of pure glee. Leave it to Charles to notice how happy he was first and foremost.

"Huh?" Charles' awe turned to confusion, "What's so funny?"

"Not funny." Henry brought Charles into a hug, _"Just happy."_

Charles hugged him back, "You're really good at dancing."

"Thank you."

"If you don't mind me asking though..." Charles stepped back from him, cupping his cheek in one hand, "Why don't you dance like this more often if it clearly makes you so happy?"

Henry faltered. He could tell; That question came from a multifaceted place. Charles knew that Henry loved to dance, but he'd also seen him stifle the urge to shuffle, or tap his foot, or move much at all aside from failing to focus on his task whenever the music came on. He'd seen Henry dance before. He knew Henry had a dark past.

It was almost as if he'd asked, _"How could such a basic joy be so horribly ripped away from you?"_

"I..." Henry swallowed, continuing in sign, "I'll...tell you another time."

Charles recognized the distress in his gaze. In the way his throat closed up so he couldn't speak, his eyes stared straight down at the floor, his arms folded when he wasn't signing to try and hide their shaking.

Charles nuzzled into Henry's forehead, "Alright. Hey, Hen, you're okay."

Henry smiled, "You're sweet. Hey, you wanna dance with me!?"

"Yeah!"

The music picked up, and Henry took Charles' hands to swing back and forth with him.

He was still hurting. He was still so ashamed. He was still haunted by his mother's disappointment in him.

But...he was healing, and he was determined to take back this thing that made him so happy.

***

**Author's Note:**

> Another silly fic between my longer, more serious ones. It's times like this when I wish I was an animator, because I have a very specific idea for what this dance would look like, but I don't know how to properly describe it. Oh well. I have no justification for this other than I thought Henry would like this song.
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr! marshemillow.tumblr.com


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